Bucks hold off Mavericks

The Milwaukee Bucks needed a late defensive stop against Dallas on Friday night and they got it, pulling out a 96-95 win over the Mavericks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

The Bucks (15-23) build a 17-point first half lead, then fought off a furious Dallas rally in the second half.

The Mavericks (21-16) fired 26 three-point attempts in the first half and made just six. they finished 14 for 44 (31.8%) from beyond the arc for the game.

Dallas took a 95-94 lead on a pair of free throws by Dirk Nowitzki with 38.4 seconds left but after a Giannis Antetokounmpo offensive foul, Nowitzki committed a turnover when John Henson deflected his pass, which landed in the hands of Khris Middleton. He scored the go-ahead driving layup with 9.9 seconds to play.

The Bucks defense forced Nowitzki to pass the ball out to Deron Williams and his jumper was off target to give the Bucks the one-point win.

Middleton led all scorers with 27 points. John Henson had 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting and Michael Carter-Williams had 15 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.